Lindsay Hassett With The Australian Cricket Team in England in 1948 - First Test

First Test

Australia headed into the First Test at Trent Bridge with ten wins and two draws from twelve tour matches, including eight innings victories. England captain Norman Yardley won the toss and elected to bat. Pundits predicted that the pitch would be ideal for batting after offering some assistance to fast bowlers in the first hour. The surface had greened up following overnight rain. Australia's fast bowlers reduced England to 8/74 before finishing them off for 165 late on the first day. The tourists had already taken the lead by the time Hassett came in to join Bradman at 4/185 on the second afternoon. The hard-hitting Miller had come in at No. 4, the more Hassett's usual position, indicating that Bradman may have been looking to attack, but the change in batting order failed as Miller was out for a duck.

Australia had been scoring slowly, as they would throughout the day, and following Hassett's entrance, the Australians slowed further as Bradman changed the team strategy to one of attempting to bat only once. Hassett almost holed out early when he knocked a ball from Alec Bedser up in the air and it just evaded the grasp of wicket-keeper Godfrey Evans. Yardley continued to employ leg theory, as he and Charlie Barnett bowled outside leg stump; this tactic stifled the Australian scoring but also limited wicket-taking opportunities. During one over, Bradman did not attempt to hit a single ball and put his hands on his hips to express his displeasure at England’s tactics. During the 15 minutes before tea, the Australian skipper did not add a single run and was heckled by the crowd. In the last session, Bradman brought up one of his slowest ever centuries, as Yardley focused on stopping runs rather than taking Australian wickets. Bradman reached stumps on 130. Hassett also batted patiently, with one period of 20 minutes during which his score remained on 30. Australia closed the second day at 4/293 to lead by 128, with Hassett on 41, having combined for an unbroken stand of 108 with Bradman.

Early on the third day, Bradman fell for 138 with the score at 5/305. Yardley again pinned Hassett down with more leg theory. Laker bowled with one slip, while Young had none and employed a pure ring field. The scoring was slow during this passage of play—Young delivered 11 consecutive maiden overs and his 26-over spell conceded only 14 runs. In the face of the slow proceedings, Hassett conducted himself in a humorous way, and English commentator John Arlott said that "only his grace and concealed humour made his innings tolerable". He mainly scored from deflections and was for the most part prepared to take his time. The injured Ray Lindwall came out to join Hassett at 7/365 without a runner. Hassett—who had scored only 30 runs in the first 75 minutes of the morning—swept Laker for four and then hit him for the first six of the match. Hassett added 53 in the two hours of the morning session to reach lunch at 94. Australia were unhurried and remained patient in the face of Yardley’s defensive tactics because they had bowled England out on the first day and there was still sufficient time to force a result. After the break, Hassett reached his first Test century on English soil. from 305 minutes. He then accelerated, adding a further 37 runs in 49 minutes, before being bowled by Bedser, having struck 20 fours and a six. This ended an eighth-wicket partnership of 107 with Lindwall with the score at 8/473; Australia ended at 509 to take a 344-run first innings lead.

During England’s second innings, Joe Hardstaff, Jr. fell for 43, lofting Ernie Toshack to Hassett on the leg side to end a partnership of 93 with Denis Compton. The ball looped up in the air and travelled half-way to the square leg boundary, but Hassett managed to keep track of its trajectory through the fog. Australia eventually finished off the hosts for 441, leaving them a target of 98 on the final afternoon. Australia proceeded steadily to 38 from 32 minutes before Morris fell. Bradman came in and was out for a duck. This left Australia at 2/48, at which point dark clouds began to close in on the ground, and it appeared that rain might save England. However, it never came, and meanwhile Hassett joined Barnes. The pair attacked, Hassett twice driving Bedser over the infield for boundaries, and later pulling another ball in the air for another four. The tourists reached the target without further loss after 87 minutes of batting. Barnes tied the scores with a swept boundary, but ran off the field with a souvenir stump, believing that the match was over. He returned to the field when he noticed the crowd reaction; Hassett hit the winning run to end with an unbeaten 21.

Between Tests, Bradman rested himself for the match against Northamptonshire, which started the day after the Test. Hassett won the toss and elected to bowl; his bowlers ensured that the decision paid off by bowling out the hosts for 119. When Australia batted, Hassett came in at 1/17 and added 122 runs for the second wicket with Morris before combining for another 104 with Ron Hamence. Hassett was eventually out for the top score of 127, having played with flair and freedom he eschewed in the Tests, before Australia declared at 8/352. The bowlers then removed Northamptonshire for 169, giving Australia a victory by an innings and 64 runs. Hassett also took five catches for the match. He was rested for the second match against Yorkshire, which was drawn.